Port-plate for rotary meters.



E. 0. BROWN. PORT PLATE FOR ROTARY METERS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC]. 24, 1909.

' 972,156. Patented 0ct. 11,1910.

'Fi g4 INVENTOR EL. BfiUW/V.

ATT' M In: NORRIS PETERS cm, wasnmmou, 04 c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST C. BROWN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 ROTARY METER COMPANY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PORT-PLATE FOR ROTARY METERS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 24, 1909.

Patented Oct. 11, 1910.

Serial No. 534,753.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST C. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the borough of Manhattan, county, city, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Port- Platesfor Rotary Meters, as set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in the construction of rotarygas meters of the turbine type. In meters of this type the gas is causedto flow through a plurality of ports, the ducts through which directtheir individual blasts of gas against the blades of a vane, therebycausing it to rotate. EX- perience has taught that the liquid substancesof a more or less tarry nature which are condensed out of or are carriedalong by many kinds of gas, as for instance illuminating gas, are apt tointerfere with the proper operation of a meter of the type described. Ifthis tarry liquid is forced through the ports and allowed to collect onthe port plate beneath the vane it is many times merely a matter of timebefore many of the operating parts of the meter become clogged by thepresence of this gummy substance.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the dangers andinaccuracies heretofore attributable to the clogging by liquid in thegas being metered.

To this end the invention contemplates the construction of a novel portplate which shall be self draining and so constructed as to prevent thescattering of any liquid which may be dragged through the ports.

In the embodiment illustrated the port plate comprises a metallic diskprovided with a seating flange at its outer rim; having a depressedtrough-like drip ledge at its interior portion; an intermediate portiondownwardly dished from the seating flange to the drip ledge; and havingtubular ports arranged vertically through the dished portion, arrangedin concentric circles and terminating in two horizontal planes one aboveand one below the port plate. The troughlike drip ledge is provided withdrainage openings which may be provided with trap tubes to prevent theleakage of gas.

The above and further objects of this invention will be pointed out morein detail in the accompanying claims and will be apparent from thefollowing specification when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings which form part of this application, and in which,

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the port plate showing thecooperating parts of a rotary meter construction; Fig. 2 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1 showing a slight modification of the port plate; andFig. 3 is a plan View of the port plate of Fig. 2 drawn to a reducedscale.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, 1 indicates the casing ofa rotary meter, the inlet duct for which is indicated by 2 and theoutlet duct for which is indicated by 3, whereby the gas to be meteredis caused to traverse in the general direction of the arrows from theinlet duct 2 through the ducts 4 of the ports 5 against the blades 6 ofthe vane 7 and thence through the outlet duct 8.

In the construction shown walls 8 and 9 and the vertically arrangedcylindrical casing 10 form a part of the partition between the inlet 2and the outlet 3. This partition may be completed by the port plate 11.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 the port plate 11 comprises ametallic disk having a circular seating flange 12 rabbeted to make a gastight lit with the top rim of cylinder 10 and whereby the port plate issupported in horizontal position. The port plate is also provided with adepressed inner drip ledge 13, which is shown in the form of an annulartrough. The portion of the port plate intermediate the ledge 13 and theseat ing flange 12 is downwardly dished with a varying pitch andcomprises a downwardly dished portion 14 of gentle pitch continuing intoa dished portion 15 of steeper pitch which terminates in the ledge 18.The ledge 13 is provided with one or more drainage openings 16. In theconstruction shown in Fig. 1 the port plate is shown provided with acentral opening 17 which is closed by the cap 18 of a shell 19, theflanges 20 of the cap resting upon the inner elevated rim 21 of theledge 13. In this construction the cap 18 provides the lower bearing 22forthe vertical spindle 23 of thevane 7 which is arranged to rotate upona vertical axis concentric with the dished portions of the port plate11.

In Fig. 2 the port plate 11 is modified in that the central opening isabsent and the bearing 22 for the spindle 28 ofthe vane is provided upona central disk shaped portion 24, formed as an integral part of the portplate construction, which may be a casting. The drainage opening 16 maybe left as shown at the right of Fig. 2 or may be provided with means toprevent the leakage of gas therethrough. At the left of Fig. 2 adepending tube 25 is secured in the opening and its internal diameter issuch that the duct therethrough will be substantially filled with thedraining liquid to trap the upward progress of gas through the same.

In Fig. l the drainage openings 16 are shown each provided with a tube26 having an upturned trapping portion 27. at its lower end to form apositive trap against the flow of'gas therethrough.

The port tubes 5 are so arranged as to form ducts 4 extending above andthrough the dished top surface of the port plate 11. These port tubesare shown as formed of short sections of uniform length of suitabletubing and are arranged in a plurality of rows concentric with the axisof the spindle 23 and concentric with the dishing of the port plate 11.These port tubes are also arranged so that they all terminate at theirupper ends 28 in the same horizontal plane at a slight elevation abovethe outer rim 12 of the port plate and also extend below and terminatein a horizontal plane at a distance below the port plate.

With the construction described the depending port tubes 5 prevent anyliquid which may have collected on the lower surface 29 of the portplate from passing through the ducts 4. Any liquid which may collect onthe inner surface of the ducts and be dragged upwardly by the flowinggas flows over the top brims 28 of the port tubes 5', down upon thedownwardly dished top surface of the port plate and thence down to thedrip ledge 13,.fr0m which it is drained by openings 16. The steeperpitch of the portion 15 where the drainage surface is of a lesser radiusthan that of the portion 14c insures its satisfactory drainage and alsoprovides that the outer rows of port tubes shall project downwardly amaximum distance below the port plate.

Although the port plate has been described as having two dished portionsof different pitch it is to be understood that the inventioncontemplates a dished portion broadly which may be regarded as the twodished portions 14 and 15 of different pitch or as either of them- It isalso to be understood that the exact contour of the brim of the portplate is immaterial as itis merely necessary that it should conform tothe structural conditions of the meter construction in which it isemployed.

lVhat is claimed and what is desired to be secured by United StatesLetters Patent is 1. A port plate for rotary meters comprising acircular member having an outer seating flange and a portion having anannular downwardly dished top surface with ports opening through saiddished top surface.

2. A port plate arranged to be supported horizontally and comprising adisk having a depressed drip ledge and top surface downwardly dishedfrom its outer rim to said depressed drip ledge, in combination with aplurality of port tubes extending through and above said dished surfaceand providing ducts through said plate.

3. A port plate arranged to be supported horizontally and comprising adisk having a depressed drip ledge and top surface downwardly dishedfrom its outer rim to said depressed drip ledge, in combination with aplurality of port tubes extending through and above said dished surfaceand providing ducts through said plate, said port tubes being arrangedvertically and spaced in concentric circles relatively to the dishing ofsaid plate.

4:. In combination in a rotary meter, a rotatable vane journaled on avertical axis; a port plate mounted horizontally below said vane andhaving its upper surface centrally and downwardly dished concentricallywith said vertical axis; and a plurality of port tubes extendingupwardly from said dished port plate toward said vane.

5. Aport plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dished portion and port tubes projecting above and below saiddished portion and providing ducts through the said dished portion.

6. A port plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dished portion and ort tubes projecting above and below saiddished portion and providing ducts through the said dished portion, allof said port tubes terminating in the same plane above the said dishedportion.

7. A port plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dishcd portion and port tubes projecting above and below saiddished ortion and providing ducts through the said dished portion, allof said port tubes terminating in the same planes above and below thesaid dished portion.

8. A port plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dished portion and port tubes projecting above and below saiddished portion and providing ducts through the said dished portion, saiddished portion terminating in a depressed trough shaped drip ledgehaving one or more drainage openings.

9. A port plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dished portion and port tubes projecting above and below saiddished portion and providing ducts through the said dished portion, saiddished portion terminating in a depressed trough shaped drip ledgehaving one or more drainage openings; and means for preventing theleakage of gas through said drainage openings.

10. A port plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dished portion and port tubes projecting above and below saiddished portion and providing ducts through the said dished portion, saiddished portion terminating in a depressed trough shaped drip ledgehaving one or more drainage openings; and means for preventing theleakage of gas through said drainage openings comprising depending traptubes.

11. A port plate for rotary meters having a circular downwardly andcentrally dished portion of downwardly increasing pitch and port tubesprojecting above and below said dished portion and providing ductsthrough the said dished portion.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ERNEST C. BROWN.

WVitnesses CHRISTINE E. HANSELMANN, LEONARD DAY.

